KR102655176B1 - Method and apparatus for visualizing living tissue - Google Patents

Abstract

A device for visualizing biological tissue is disclosed. The device includes: a display; One or more processors; and a memory electrically connected to the processor and storing at least one code executed by the processor. Accordingly, the reading of images taken of biological tissue can be easily performed, thereby improving user convenience.

Description

Method and device for visualizing biological tissue {METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR VISUALIZING LIVING TISSUE}

The present disclosure relates to a method and device for effectively recognizing and visualizing biological tissue in a biological image.

Recently, with the development of imaging medical examination methods using imaging devices such as ultrasound devices, computed tomography (CT) devices, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) devices, diseases in the human body can be detected or diagnosed through analysis and processing technology of medical images. The importance of the system is expanding.

However, even when using imaging medical devices, there was difficulty or inconvenience in identifying complex biological tissues with the naked eye.

Accordingly, a method for more effectively identifying biological tissue is needed.

The above-described content is merely for the purpose of providing background information related to embodiments of the present invention, and the content described does not necessarily constitute prior art.

Publication of Patent No. 10-2017-0065512 (Publication Date: 2017,06.13)

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a method for more effectively recognizing and visualizing biological images.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for effectively recognizing and visualizing biological tissue in biological images using a neural network-based algorithm.

The object of the present invention is not limited to the problems mentioned above, and other objects and advantages of the present invention that are not mentioned can be understood through the following description and will be more clearly understood through examples of the present invention. It will also be appreciated that the objects and advantages of the present invention can be realized by means and combinations thereof as set forth in the claims.

In order to achieve the above object, a method for visualizing biological tissue according to an embodiment of the present invention may be provided.

This visualization method includes acquiring biometric image information of a voxel structure from an imaging device that photographs biological tissue; displaying the acquired biometric image information; When a specific area including biological tissue to be searched is selected from the biological image information, first adjusting the color intensity of the area excluding the selected specific area within a predetermined range; secondly adjusting the color intensity in the specific area within a predetermined range based on characteristic information of the biological tissue that is the search target; When a command for adjusting the color intensity of a specific voxel included in the specific area is input, a third step of adjusting the color intensity of the specific voxel; And it may include repeating the first to third adjustment steps until a predetermined condition is satisfied.

An apparatus for visualizing biological tissue according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a display; One or more processors; and a memory electrically connected to the processor and storing at least one code executed by the processor.

When the memory is executed through the processor, the processor acquires voxel-structured biometric image information from an imaging device that photographs biological tissue, outputs the obtained biometric image information to the display, and outputs the biometric image information to the display. When a specific area including a biological tissue that is a search target is selected, the color intensity of the area excluding the selected specific area is first adjusted within a predetermined range, and based on the characteristic information of the biological tissue that is a search target, the specific area is adjusted. The color intensity in an area is secondly adjusted within a predetermined range, and when a command to adjust the color intensity of a specific voxel included in the specific area is input, a code that causes the color intensity of the specific voxel to be thirdly adjusted may be stored. You can.

The means of solving the technical problems to be achieved in the present invention are not limited to the means mentioned above, and other solution means not mentioned above will be clear to those skilled in the art from the description below. It will be understandable.

According to various embodiments of the present invention, biological tissue composed of three dimensions can be effectively recognized and visualized even if the biological tissue is expressed in two dimensions.

The above description is not limited to the effects of the invention mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned above will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below.

1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a method for visualizing biological tissue according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a biological tissue visualization device according to an embodiment of the present invention, according to an embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a diagram illustrating biological image information displayed by a biological tissue visualization device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and
Figure 4 is a sequence diagram for explaining a method for visualizing biological tissue according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments disclosed in the present specification will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. However, identical or similar components will be assigned the same reference numbers regardless of reference numerals, and duplicate descriptions thereof will be omitted. The suffixes “module” and “part” for components used in the following description are given or used interchangeably only for the ease of preparing the specification, and do not have distinct meanings or roles in themselves.

Additionally, in describing the embodiments disclosed in this specification, if it is determined that detailed descriptions of related known technologies may obscure the gist of the embodiments disclosed in this specification, the detailed descriptions will be omitted. In addition, the attached drawings are only for easy understanding of the embodiments disclosed in this specification, and the technical idea disclosed in this specification is not limited by the attached drawings, and all changes included in the spirit and technical scope of the present invention are not limited. , should be understood to include equivalents or substitutes.

Terms containing ordinal numbers, such as first, second, etc., may be used to describe various components, but the components are not limited by the terms. The above terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

When a component is said to be "connected" or "connected" to another component, it is understood that it may be directly connected to or connected to the other component, but that other components may exist in between. It should be. On the other hand, when it is mentioned that a component is “directly connected” or “directly connected” to another component, it should be understood that there are no other components in between.

1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a method for visualizing biological tissue according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The imaging devices (In, InA~InZ) can photograph the user's biological body in order to visualize the user's biological tissue. The imaging device (In) may be a variety of devices, including a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device, a computed tomography (CT) device, and an ultrasound device, but the embodiment is not limited thereto.

An MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) device (InA) is an imaging device that can obtain arbitrary tomographic images of a living body using a magnetic field generated by magnetism, and a CT (Computed Tomography) device (InZ) uses a CT scanner. It may be an imaging device that projects X-rays or ultrasound waves onto the human body from various angles and reconstructs them with a computer to produce images of the internal cross-section of the human body.

The biological tissue visualization device (reference numeral 100 in FIG. 2) can acquire voxel-structured biological image information from imaging devices (In, In~iNz). Here, a voxel is a volume element and can represent the value of a regular grid unit in a three-dimensional space. The term voxel is a portmanteau combining the words volume and pixel, and can indicate that two-dimensional image data is displayed as pixels.

The biological tissue visualization device (100 in FIG. 2) outputs biological image information in a voxel structure through a display (S11), and can detect and visualize the biological tissue that is the search target by adjusting the intensity of the color (S15) ).

Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a biological tissue visualization device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Reference will be made to the reference numerals in FIG. 1 together.

The biological tissue visualization device 100 may be a device that specifies, detects, and visualizes biological tissue from biological image information of a user (e.g., a patient being treated, a subject being examined, etc.) expressed in a voxel structure. may include an input unit 110, a display 130, a memory 150, and at least one processor 190.

The input unit 110 may include a keyboard, mouse, touch input module, haptic module, etc. that receive user manipulation commands, but the embodiment is not limited thereto.

The display 130 may output biometric image information with a voxel structure collected from the imaging device In.

The memory 150 is electrically connected to the processor 190, can store at least one code executed by the processor, and can store an artificial intelligence-based neural network model.

The processor 190 may acquire voxel-structured biometric image information from an imaging device (In) that photographs biological tissue, and output the obtained biometric image information to the display 130.

In an embodiment, the processor 190 may collect data in various formats (3D data format, tomographic data series, etc.) from the imaging device In and process the data into voxel-structured biometric image information.

When a specific area containing biological tissue that is a search target on biometric image information is selected, the processor 190 may adjust the color intensity of the area excluding the selected specific area within a predetermined range (first adjustment).

In the first embodiment, the processor 190 may receive a command to select a specific area according to operator manipulation. Workers may be medical staff including doctors, operators operating medical devices, etc., but the embodiment is not limited thereto. The processor 190 can receive minimum and maximum values for the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis from the operator and display or specify specific areas separately on the screen.

In the second embodiment, the processor 190 may store a pre-learned specific area setting model that sets the area containing biometric manipulation as a specific area in the memory 150, and the processor 190 may store the specific area setting model in the specific area setting model. Based on this, you can select a specific area. Specifically, the processor 190 may select the specific area based on the expected location of the biological tissue using a specific area setting model.

To this end, the processor 190 selects a specific area containing the relevant biological tissue in the image based on label information such as the shape, shape, location within the living body, color, size, and type of biological tissue of the various biological tissues, A specific area setting model can be trained.

In this way, the processor 190 can adjust the color intensity of the area excluding the selected specific area within a predetermined range (first adjustment). The processor 190 may set the contrast to low for areas other than a specific area and display them transparently, but the embodiment is not limited to this.

That is, the processor 190 can change the image to be transparent by setting the color intensity of areas excluding specific areas to low. Accordingly, since only specific areas are expressed in more detail, the workload of workers reviewing biometric images can be reduced, thereby improving user convenience.

Additionally, the processor 190 may adjust the color intensity in the specific area within a predetermined range (second adjustment) based on characteristic information of the biological tissue to be searched. Characteristic information may be information that specifies whether a biological tissue is a hard tissue or a soft tissue. Hard tissues (e.g., bones) may be displayed more clearly, and soft tissues (e.g., muscles, organs, etc.) may be displayed more transparently than hard tissues.

In the first embodiment, the processor 190 may adjust the color intensity of at least a portion of a specific area according to an operator's selection command. The processor 190 may adjust the color intensity (e.g., brightness) of at least some areas within a specific area according to the operator's selection command (e.g., setting using a mouse/button).

This is because hard tissue has a higher light reflectivity than soft tissue, the processor 190 can adjust the color intensity so that the hard tissue can be observed in more detail when observing the hard tissue, and can adjust the color intensity so that the soft tissue can be observed in more detail when observing the soft tissue. You can.

In the second embodiment, the processor 190 may use a biological tissue recognition model that recognizes hard tissue and soft tissue in a specific area. The processor 190 can distinguish between hard tissue and soft tissue within a specific area regardless of the operator's selection.

For this purpose, the processor 190 uses a pre-learned biological tissue recognition model based on label information such as the shape, shape, position in the living body, color, size, and type of biological tissue of various biological tissues, and uses (hard tissue and soft tissue, etc.) can be identified and classified.

At this time, the processor 190 may store a code in the memory 150 that causes the identified biological tissue to be highlighted and displayed. For example, when it is difficult to distinguish biological tissue only by light and dark, the processor 190 may store a code in the memory 150 that changes the color of the biological tissue or causes only the biological tissue to be enlarged and displayed using a zoom-in function. .

When a command to adjust the color intensity of a specific voxel included in a specific area is input, the processor 190 may adjust the color intensity of the specific voxel (third adjustment).

For example, the processor 190 may use an eraser of a voxel size (e.g., expressed as a cube) to output a voxel in a specific area to the display 130 so that it disappears by selection. At this time, the processor 190 is equipped with an erase restoration function and can restore voxels that have already been deleted with an eraser. At this time, this may be expressed in reverse chronological order, but the embodiment is not limited to this.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating biological image information displayed by a biological tissue visualization device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the biological tissue visualization device 100 can set the specific area A1 described above and use the item menu A1l to adjust the size of the specific area A1.

The item menu (A1l) can adjust the sizes of the X-, Y-, and Z-axes (A1l_ can do.

The biological tissue visualization device 100 can provide an item (MC) that specifies the current cursor position, so when there is difficulty in specifying a specific area (A1), the specific area (A1) is selected using the position of the cursor. It can be specified more easily.

Figure 4 is a sequence diagram for explaining a method for visualizing biological tissue according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, the biological tissue visualization device can acquire voxel-structured biological image information from an imaging device that photographs biological tissue (S710).

Next, the biological tissue visualization device can display the acquired biological image information (S720).

Afterwards, when a specific area containing biological tissue to be searched is selected from the biological image information (S730), the color intensity of the area excluding the selected specific area can be first adjusted within a predetermined range (S740).

If a specific area containing the biological tissue to be searched is not selected from the biological image information (S730), selection may be waited (S735).

After step S740, the biological tissue visualization device may secondly adjust the color intensity within the specific area within a predetermined range based on characteristic information of the biological tissue that is the search target (S750).

The second area to be adjusted may be at least a partial area within a specific area, and may be set differently depending on characteristic information of the biological tissue. Additionally, step S750 may be performed by lowering the color intensity.

When a command to adjust the color intensity of a specific voxel included in a specific region is input, the biological tissue visualization device may make a third adjustment to the color intensity of the specific voxel (S760).

The biological tissue visualization device may repeatedly perform the first to third adjustments until a predetermined termination condition is satisfied (S770). However, the order and repetition order of the first adjustment, second adjustment, and third adjustment may be different.

The present disclosure described above can be implemented as computer-readable code on a program-recorded medium. Computer-readable media includes all types of recording devices that store data that can be read by a computer system. Examples of computer-readable media include HDD (Hard Disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Disk), SDD (Silicon Disk Drive), ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage device, etc. There is. Additionally, the computer may include a processor for each device.

Meanwhile, the program may be specially designed and configured for the present disclosure, or may be known and usable by those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of programs may include not only machine language code such as that created by a compiler, but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like.

In the specification (particularly in the claims) of the present disclosure, the use of the term “above” and similar referential terms may refer to both the singular and the plural. In addition, when a range is described in the present disclosure, the invention includes the application of individual values within the range (unless there is a statement to the contrary), and each individual value constituting the range is described in the detailed description of the invention. It's the same.

Unless there is an explicit order or description to the contrary regarding the steps constituting the method according to the present disclosure, the steps may be performed in any suitable order. The present disclosure is not necessarily limited by the order of description of the steps above. The use of any examples or illustrative terms (e.g., etc.) in the present disclosure is merely to describe the present disclosure in detail, and unless limited by the claims, the scope of the present disclosure is limited by the examples or illustrative terms. It doesn't work. In addition, those skilled in the art will recognize that various modifications, combinations and changes may be made according to design conditions and factors within the scope of the appended claims or their equivalents.

Therefore, the spirit of the present disclosure should not be limited to the above-described embodiments, and the scope of the patent claims described below as well as all scopes equivalent to or equivalently changed from the claims are within the scope of the spirit of the present disclosure. It will be said to belong to

Claims (5)

As a method for visualizing biological tissue,
Obtaining biometric image information in a voxel structure from an imaging device that photographs biological tissue;
displaying the acquired biometric image information;
When a specific area containing a biological tissue to be searched is selected from the biological image information, the color intensity of the area excluding the selected specific area is adjusted so that the contrast of the area excluding the selected specific area is lower than the contrast of the selected specific area. A first adjusting step;
Second adjusting the color intensity in the specific area so that the soft tissue is displayed more transparently than the hard tissue, based on characteristic information about hard tissue and soft tissue among the biological tissues to be searched;
When a command for adjusting the color intensity of a specific voxel included in the specific area is input, thirdly adjusting the color intensity of the specific voxel so that the specific voxel is deleted and restored; and
Comprising repeating the first to third adjustment steps until a predetermined condition is satisfied,
Method for visualizing living tissue.
According to paragraph 1,
The hard tissue is bone among the biological tissues, and the soft tissue is any one of muscles and organs among the biological tissues,
The hard tissue has a higher light reflectance than the soft tissue,
Method for visualizing living tissue.
A device for visualizing biological tissue, comprising:
display;
One or more processors; and
It is electrically connected to the processor and includes a memory that stores at least one code executed by the processor,
When the memory is executed through the processor, the processor acquires voxel-structured biometric image information from an imaging device that photographs biological tissue, outputs the obtained biometric image information to the display, and outputs the biometric image information to the display. When a specific area containing biological tissue to be searched is selected, first adjust the color intensity of the area excluding the selected specific area so that the brightness of the area excluding the selected specific area is lower than the brightness of the selected specific area; , Based on the characteristic information about hard tissue and soft tissue among the biological tissues that are the target of the search, the color intensity in the specific area is second adjusted so that the soft tissue is displayed more transparently than the hard tissue, and a specific voxel included in the specific area is deleted. And when a command to adjust the color intensity of the specific voxel to be restored is input, a code that causes a third adjustment of the color intensity of the specific voxel is stored,
Biological tissue visualization device.
According to paragraph 3,
The memory, when executed through the processor, causes the processor to select the specific area based on the expected location of the biological tissue and to identify the biological tissue within the selected specific area based on a pre-learned biological tissue recognition model. A code is stored that identifies and causes the identified biological tissue to be highlighted and displayed,
Biological tissue visualization device.
According to paragraph 3,
The hard tissue is bone among the biological tissues, and the soft tissue is any one of muscles and organs among the biological tissues,
The hard tissue has a higher light reflectance than the soft tissue,
Biological tissue visualization device.

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